RESUMEN
Background: Nursing students face unique academic and clinical workloads linked to increased stress. Previous studies indicate formal and informal mindfulness meditation provide stress-reducing benefits. This practice aligns with holistic nursing core values of self-care and self-reflection; little is known about meditation practice in nursing students. Objectives: Our study aimed to describe meditation practice and predictors in pre-licensure nursing students. Design: Cross-sectional, multi-site. Methods: Qualtrics surveys queried individual demographics, personal meditation and exercise habits, and indicators of wellbeing. Results: Of 417 participants, 65% (n = 271) reported at least one type of meditation practice. Prayer/spiritual activities were most prevalent (almost 70%), followed by breathing exercises (41%). Meditators reported good or excellent self-rated health status or engaged in exercise (p < .05). Meditators also reported more self-compassion, happiness, and satisfaction with life, and perceived less stress than non-meditators (p < .05). Of all factors studied, only engaging in exercise significantly predicted practicing meditation (OR = 2.05, 95%CI 1.10-3.82). Conclusion: Nursing students who engage in meditation report signs of health and well-being and utilize holistic methods such as prayer and breathing. The intrinsic motivation to engage in healthy habits such as exercise may also help students engage in mindfulness meditation and is an important finding for nursing educators.
Asunto(s)
Meditación , Estudiantes de Enfermería , Humanos , Meditación/métodos , Estudios Transversales , Estrés Psicológico/terapia , Satisfacción PersonalRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Nursing students are at increased risk for the consequences of stress on wellbeing. Little is known about nursing students' health promoting behaviors and how these relate to health, stress, and well-being. PURPOSE: The purpose was to describe perceived stress and measures of well-being (self-compassion, happiness, and life satisfaction) along with self-reported health promoting behaviors and health status in order to identify factors that could affect stress and well-being in nursing students. METHODS: A multi-site team employed cross-sectional research methods to explore well-being, stress, and potential physical and emotional health-relevant factors in undergraduate nursing students. Baccalaureate Nursing students from three nursing programs in North Texas participated in a web-based survey. Undergraduate students (n = 417) reported being junior or senior level in a traditional (74.1%) or an alternative nursing training program (on-line, fast-track, or weekend nursing program; 24.9%) in the fall of 2019. Recruitment fliers went to a total of 2264 potential participants via university e-mail. Consenting students completed online surveys collecting demographic and health related factors as well as measures of well-being and stress. RESULTS: More than half (56.6%) of students reported worsening health since starting nursing school. Exercise and meditation were related to higher measures of well-being and lower stress, but this relationship diminished in the multivariate model when considering individual demographic and health related factors. Our multivariate model suggests that self-rated health status remains a main potential predictor of reduced stress and improved well-being. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported health factors are related to wellbeing in nursing students. Targeted interventions to improve well-being among nursing students may be necessary and would fit with national recommendations for nursing education programs. Resiliency skills training with mindfulness practices may help nursing students reduce stress, improve overall well-being, and equip students to avoid burnout and stress-related illness once in the workforce.